How to Effectively Use Technology and GTD to Simplify Your Life

06Jul

How to Effectively Use Technology to Simplify Your Life

My primary tools are Gmail, Google Calendar, Evernote, and Dropbox with the GTD system. (I leverage these realtime apps with my computer and cell phone. The key to efficiency is using basic GTD concepts in conjunction with online tools.)

Capture any random thoughts and ideas immediately with a note in Evernote using my phone app.

Go paperless – scan documents and send to email inbox

Set up a contact in Gmail named “Evernote” and enter the Evernote associated email address so you can easily “forward to Evernote” from your email.

Use Gmail inbox to respond to items that take less than 2 minutes, everything else that requires action and takes more than 2 minutes forward to “Evernote” inbox for review

I also recommend using IFTTT.com to automate tasks between Email, Evernote, Dropbox, Twitter, Facebook, and other online tools (very useful).

A Screenshot of how I organized Evernote using the GTD concept (inbox is default folder)

GettingThingsDone (GTD) concepts by David Allen

Capture all the things that need to get done into a logical and trusted system outside of your head and off your mind

Disciplining yourself to make decisions about all the inputs you let into your life, so that you will always have a plan for next actions that you can implement or renegotiate at any moment

Outcomes & Actions

Describe in a single sentence the intended successful outcome for the problem or situation

Write down the very next physical action required to move the situation forward

Horizontal & Vertical Control (Get Things Off Your Mind and Get Them Done)

Horizontal maintains coherence across all activities in which you are involved

Vertical manages thinking up and down the track of individual topics and projects

Five Stages of Workflow (Horizontal)

Collect things that command our attention (anything personal or professional, big or little, that you think should be different than it currently is and that you have any level of internal commitment to changing)